Analyzing recently updated data from the Census on state and local taxes across the country, this factsheet compares the overall level of state and local taxes in Massachusetts to the level in other states.
This factsheet explains the history of the “Taxachusetts” label and describes how it is at odds with the reality of the level of taxation in Massachusetts today.
New Census data released this week shows that ACA implementation led to the largest single-year increase in health insurance coverage nationwide in 2014. Also, incomes in Massachusetts increased and child poverty declined for the first time since 2008. But we have a long way to go. Incomes are barely growing across the country and more than one in five children nationally (and more than one in seven in Massachusetts) lived in poverty in 2014.
This factsheet examines findings from the Council on State Taxation’s (COST) annual report examining the taxation of businesses in each state. The report accounts for all state and local taxes and finds that Massachusetts is a relatively low tax state for business.
Labor Day will arrive again this Monday, offering all of us a chance to remember and to celebrate the social and economic achievements of American workers. While Massachusetts workers have seen some improvements recently – including lower unemployment, a higher minimum wage and earned paid sick time – unfortunately, since the late 1970s, our national and state economies have not given workers much cause for celebration.
Taxes are the primary way we pay for the things that we do together through government. As this Facts-At-A-Glance details, overall, the Massachusetts tax system is regressive, collecting a larger share of household income from lower-income households than it does from upper-income households.
Beginning in 1998, a number of significant changes were made to the Massachusetts tax code–including a series of phased cuts to the state personal income tax. These cuts have reduced our capacity to fund essential services.
Overall, the level of taxation in Massachusetts is in the middle of the pack when compared to the rest of the country. The Taxachusetts label is a legacy of the 1970s – and at that time the label had a basis in reality. Since the late 1970s, tax policy in the Commonwealth has changed dramatically, as described in this Facts-At-A-Glance.
This Facts-At-A-Glance describes a recent US Census report that compares how much is collected in taxes in each state to help pay for all those things we do through government. It finds that Massachusetts ranks in the middle of the pack.
The Governor recently announced the need to cut funding for school transportation, job training, health care, and other investments that protect the health of our people and our economy. One of the reasons for these cuts is the triggering of an automatic tax cut caused by a twelve year old law. This tax cut, which primarily benefits the highest income taxpayers, will cost the Commonwealth $140 million a year. It is part of a series of automatic income tax rate cuts that together will cost the Commonwealth $350 million this year.